Gay St. Louis Lawmaker’s Passionate Speech Against Anti-Trans Bill Goes Viral

When Missouri State Rep. Ian Mackey addressed Rep. Chuck Basye over his support of the Save Women’s Sports bill, he asked Basye how his dead gay brother would have reacted to the legislation.

The bill which would allow school districts to ban those who are biologically male from participating in K-12 athletics with women is an amendment to a different bill designed to audit the state’s voter rolls, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

Mackey said:

I was afraid of people like you growing up and I grew up in Hickory County, Missouri. I grew up in a school district that would vote tomorrow to put this in place. For 18 years, I walked around with nice people like you, who took me to ball games, who told me how smart I was and then went to the ballot to vote for crap like this. I couldn’t wait to get out, I couldn’t wait to move a part of our state that would reject this stuff in a minute. Thank God I made it. Thank God I made it out and I think every day for the kids that are still there that haven’t made it out, who haven’t escaped. Gentleman, I’m not afraid of you anymore because you’re going to lose, you may win this today, but you’re going to lose! Your brother wanted to tell you he was gay, didn’t he?

Basye replied that his brother had feared his family would “hold that against him.”

Mackey then asked Basye, “Why would he think that?”

“I would have been afraid to tell you, too. I would have been afraid to tell you to because of stuff like this, because this is what you’re focused on,” Mackey said.

The bill ended up passing 89-40 after nearly three hours of debate. Similar legislation has advanced in state houses around the country as part of growing debate about allowing transgender women to participate in sports previously reserved for biological women.

Rep. @IanMack03007724 spoke for our entire caucus last night:

We are not afraid to stand for trans children and the families who love and support them. And we will ALWAYS stand against bigotry, no matter what form it takes. #moleg pic.twitter.com/wXywo5v4Xz

— Missouri House Democratic Caucus (@MOLegDems) April 14, 2022